AMD isn't focusing all its attention on its entry-level mobile APUs today: it's also providing details for the faster Richland-based models. The new A6, A8, and A10 mobile variants fall under the Elite Performance badge, and theoretically beat Intel to the punch with up to 71 percent faster 3D graphics than the current Core i5 family. They also muster about 7.5 hours of battery life with web use, or about an hour longer than we saw in the previous generation. The roster includes both regular power (35W) and low-voltage (17W to 25W) APUs, in dual- and quad-core editions.

We're more interested in how well the chips play with other devices and software, however. Besides the face and motion gesture recognition that we've seen before, AMD touts a new take on Wireless Display with low enough latency for game sessions, support for 1080p60 video and native Miracast sharing. The Richland upgrade also introduces a new DockPort standard that can feed both USB 3.0 and up to three external DisplayPort screens through one cable. If you like what AMD is pitching, you won't have to wait to try it -- Elite Performance APUs have already been shipping with MSI's GX60 and GX70, and other vendors shouldn't be far behind.

AMD Richland presentation

2013 Mobile APU line-up meets user needs across a wide range of new and traditional PC form factors at an ideal balance of price-to-performance

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -5/23/2013

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today launched three new additions to its 2013 A-Series and E-Series Mobile Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) lineup – delivering solutions ideally positioned to address today's evolving PC market with dramatically increased performance and power efficiency, as well as a portfolio of unique user experiences, and superior gaming and graphics:

* The 2013 AMD Elite Mobility APU (formerly codenamed "Temash") - the world's first 28nm, quad-core x86 system-on-a-chip (SoC) APU designed for touch small form-factor notebooks, tablets, and hybrids 13-inches and below;
* The 2013 AMD Mainstream APU (formerly codenamed "Kabini") - the first and only quad-core x86 SoC solution for entry-level and small-form factor touch notebooks;
* New, low power versions of the 2013 AMD Elite Performance APU (formerly codenamed "Richland") - offer the best graphics and compute in a performance APU for premium ultrathin notebooks.
These new APUs are designed to effectively balance the needs of a wide range of new and traditional mobile PC users and are available beginning today from the world's top computer manufacturers, including products announced today from Acer and HP.

"The client market has evolved – with greater diversity in the types of mobile form factors and higher performance demands from the software – and AMD is uniquely positioned to deliver the best processors to meet the needs of mobile device users today," said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, Global Business Units at AMD. "As computing becomes more visual and the graphics processor can be leveraged to do other types of processing, our dedication to the software community and the APU architecture sets us apart from the competition and enables us to deliver the best user experience whether on a tablet, a hybrid device or a notebook."

2013 AMD Mobile APU Platform Details

2013 AMD Elite Mobility APU

* World's first 28nm, quad-core x86 SoC APU, delivers the best graphics experience of any SoC on the planet for touch small form-factor notebooks, tablets and hybrids, 13-inches and below, enabling a superior HD media experience and high-end gaming.
* Available as AMD A-Series APUs, this new platform comes in dual (A4) and quad-core (A6) configurations, combining "Jaguar" x86 Central Processing Unit (CPU) cores with Graphics Core * Next AMD Radeon™ HD 8000 Series graphics.
* Up to 172 percent more CPU performance per watt and up to 212 percent better graphics performance per watt than its predecessor, and up to 12 hours of resting battery life.
* Up to 45 percent longer battery life and nearly five times more GPU performance than the competition.
* Full support for 1080p touch display capability and full Microsoft Windows compatibility, including support for "Windows Blue."

2013 AMD Mainstream APU

* Best-in-class graphics and first-in-class x86 quad core SoC delivers the ideal balance between function and affordability for entry-level and small-form factor touch notebooks.
* Combine either two or four "Jaguar" x86 CPU cores with Graphics Core Next AMD Radeon HD 8000 Series graphics, enabling stunning visual performance and all-day battery life.
* Quad core 2013 Mainstream APUs, a part of the 2013 AMD A-Series APU family (A4 and A6 models), are the first and only quad-core x86 solution for entry-level and small-form factor touch notebooks.
* Dual core versions are AMD E-Series APUs, with E1 and E2 models available.
* Up to 132 percent better visual performance per watt and up to 127 percent better productivity performance per watt, plus up to 25 percent better power efficiency than previous generations, with up to 11 hours of idle battery life.
* Up to 88 percent better graphics performance, up to 33 percent better gaming performance and up to 29 percent faster file compression than the competition.

2013 AMD Elite Performance APU

* Top-of-the-line AMD A-Series APUs with A8 and A10 models that deliver the best graphics and compute in a performance APU, including elite performance and battery life, innovative features for the evolved PC user experience, and the most entertainment, all at a great value for premium ultrathin notebooks.
* Up to 12 percent better productivity performance and between 20-40 percent better visual performance than the previous generation, including up to 51 percent more power efficiency in HD video playback and up to 13 hours of resting battery life.
* Between 39-72 percent better gaming performance on today's leading games than the competition.

2013 AMD Mobile APU User Experiences

All AMD APUs are designed to deliver the best user experience for the computing activities that matter most to consumer today. AMD is uniquely positioned to do this due to its breadth of experience that spans not only the traditional x86 compute architecture that's best suited for productivity-focused tasks like word processing and spread sheets, but also graphics processing for today's new user interfaces, and media- and graphics-intensive workloads. And the three new AMD APUs announced today offer a multitude of features related to looking at, and interacting with, mobile devices in a new way.

* AMD Elite Experiences Software – Leverage the power of the combined compute and graphics cores in AMD Elite APU Platforms to accelerate a suite of available software experiences that can dramatically expand and enhance the user experience:

* AMD Radeon™ Graphics with DirectX® 11.1 support - Enjoy discrete-level performance for crisp & sharp photos, movies and games.
* AMD Dock Port - Use up to four external monitors and sync to other devices through a single connection.
* AMD AllDay™ Power - Stay unplugged with long battery life.
* AMD Start Now technology - Boot up or resume from hibernate in seconds.